8/18 Indy star

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Colts camp observations: Anthony Richardson finds challenges behind reworked offensive line

WESTFIELD - Anthony Richardson took the handoff out of the shotgun, glanced at his receivers just long enough to draw the defense back and then took off to the open grass.

It was only a red-zone snap, so he had less than 20 yards between him and the end zone. But the No. 4 overall pick launched his weight into a stride that was too long for the reacting linemen and linebackers, and stepped into the end zone right before a safety had a chance to do anything about it.

This was the lone highlight that counted in Wednesday's 11-on-11 sessions for the Colts offense against the Bears defense. It was a day of heavy red-zone work, of run plays and safe passes -- and of a couple downfield throws coming back for penalties.


The Colts were playing without center Ryan Kelly and right guard Will Fries, who were out with foot and calf injuries, respectively. It created a trickle-down effect where Danny Pinter and Arlington Hambright stepped into the first-team offense, and the Colts spent much of the practice trying to develop some timing on their run blocks rather than risk much in pass protection.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson had a run-heavy final training camp practice at the Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield.
RELATED:Colts camp observations: Kwity Paye leads dominant day for Indy defense against Bears

Richardson finished just 2 of 6 in 11-on-11, one day after he was 15 of 19. He did have three completions called back due to penalties, two of which were touchdown passes.

It was a day where he was able to play with the first team but also with some new faces around him. In addition to Pinter and Hambright, the Colts also gave first-team reps to fifth-round rookie Will Mallory at tight end, in place of the injured Jelani Woods, Mo Alie-Cox and Drew Ogletree; and they traded first-team reps on and off between Isaiah McKenzie and Josh Downs in the slot.


McKenzie took a jet sweep in the 11-on-11 period that the Bears reacted to pretty well, but that could be a glimpse at what his role is when he is in the game this season. Downs has proven to be the more consistent and productive traditional slot receiver, even as a rookie. McKenzie's open-field speed has flashed, including with a catch-and-run of more than 30 yards in Wednesday's practice.

That eye candy could be useful to give defenses something to account for other than Richardson when they read run plays, and it'll matter more so long as Jonathan Taylor is not on the field.


Growing command and chemistry

This practice capped off a month of 14 sessions for Richardson, which became critical reps for a 21-year-old rookie with 13 starts above high school. He missed one practice due to a nose procedure but otherwise traded off first-team reps with Gardner Minshew up until Tuesday's announcement that Richardson would be the starter for the 2023 season.

That stretch has highlighted his growth as well as the room he has to grow even more. He's had some inefficient days throwing the ball, but he's also flashed his smooth pocket presence and gorgeous deep ball in nearly every one. Even on Thursday, his lightest day throwing in training camp, Richardson put on a bit of a show during warm-ups by launching passes 60-plus yards in the air.

What's stood out most to teammates, though, is his growing comfort.

"Coming from the college days seem to be a little bit different than when I was there: You’re dealing with long play calls, cadences, seeing a different offense, seeing a different defense, a lot of moving parts," Kelly said. "I think he’s done a great job of just commanding the huddle, A). B), just seeing different things – seeing checks, using cadence when it applies, and then also just being a great teammate."

With that knowledge comes more confidence and voice in when to use it. It also leads to chemistry as he catches up to older teammates who have been working all of camp to nail their specific assignment on every play.

He's seeing that come together with his starting receivers bit by bit. In Saturday's preseason game, he came within inches of creating a completion of more than 40 yards to Alec Pierce. Pierce couldn't finish the catch, but coming inches away gave him hope for what this could eventually look like if they can tighten up the details.


"I just knew my route was not even the best route but the ball was such a beautiful ball – it’s just like, he put it in a perfect spot," Pierce said. "Knowing that he can do that and even if I don’t create the most separation on a route like I did there, he’s going to be able to put the ball right where I can catch it and I just got to come down with it next time.”

Injury report

Shaquille Leonard did not practice on Thursday night, the first time the Indianapolis linebacker hasn’t been able to practice. Leonard’s injury is unknown at this point.

Buckner (foot), running back Zack Moss (arm), linebacker Segun Olubi (concussion), center Ryan Kelly (foot), guard Will Fries (calf), defensive end Genard Avery, wide receiver Malik Turner and wide receiver Vyncint Smith.

Tight end Ricky Seals-Jones delivered a big block on a Colts kickoff return, but he came up limping and wasn’t able to return to practice. Indianapolis was already thin at the tight end position; Alie-Cox (ankle), Woods (hamstring) and Ogletree (shoulder) have missed more than a week of practices. Wide receiver Michael Strachan was also held out of the practice after suffering an early injury.


Quick hits

The practice got physical Thursday with a few different skirmishes. Tight end Pharaoh Brown was jettisoned away from the scene after one of them. ... Strachan flashed the most in 1-on-1 drills, catching two touchdowns on back-shoulder plays. Where he needs to grow still is in gaining separation and defeating zone coverage. ... Minshew finished 5 of 9 in his 11-on-11 session.

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Colts camp observations: Kwity Paye leads dominant day for Indy defense against Bears

Colts camp observations: Kwity Paye leads dominant day for Indy defense against Bears
Joel A. Erickson
Indianapolis Star

WESTFIELD — Kwity Paye made life miserable on the Chicago offensive line through two days of joint practices.

Nobody more miserable than Bears right tackle Darnell Wright. Paye used a power move against Wright in one-on-one pass rush drills Wednesday, then came back Thursday and realized he had set up Wright perfectly.

Paye knew Wright would be worried about getting bullied again.

“Today, I did a one-two step, went towards him, he stopped his feet, ducked his head and I just swiped around him,” Paye said. “It’s something I know I can do, I just have to work on it more.”


Paye kept coming Thursday.

The third-year defensive end picked up a “sack” of Justin Fields in an extended 11-on-11 period near the end of practice, flushed Fields from the pocket another time and was heavily involved in at least three run stuffs, leading an Indianapolis defense that dominated the line of scrimmage Thursday.

Chicago’s running game did produce one touchdown in a red zone period, a blast up the gut from fullback Khari Blasingame on a play when the Bears snapped the ball from the 1-yard line. For the most part, though, the Colts handled everything the Bears threw at them, including a play where Chicago direct-snapped it to running back D’Onta Foreman with Fields coming around on a jet-sweep action.

Chicago didn’t fare much better in the passing game. Fields completed only 3 of 9 passes in 11-on-11 drills, the biggest coming on a strike down the middle to D.J. Moore, although the play was whistled dead, potentially for a penalty.


Indianapolis linebacker E.J. Speed also picked off Fields, reaching up with one hand to snatch a ball that strong safety Nick Cross deflected.

Indianapolis even limited the speedy Fields on the handful of plays he got out of the pocket and scrambled. Kenny Moore II and Zaire Franklin combined to “sack” Fields on the third play of the red-zone period; on another play in the red zone, Tyquan Lewis gave chase and got Fields out of bounds before the quarterback reached the goal line.



Paye led the charge with defensive end DeForest Buckner still sidelined due to a foot injury.

The former first-round pick missed five games last season, but when he was in the lineup he had six sacks, 29 quarterback pressures and 10 tackles-for-loss. Heading into his third season, Paye believes he’s finally coming into his own as a pass rusher.

“I kind of just saw myself as a power rusher,” Paye said. “But I’m also fast off the ball, and I can set stuff up with my speed. That’s something I just had to learn.”

Paye unleashed his speed on the Bears on Thursday.

Indianapolis Colts defensive end Kwity Paye (51) adjusts his helmet Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, during training camp at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield.
Good on good

Chicago’s only real success offensively Tuesday happened in 7-on-7 drills when the Indianapolis defensive line wasn’t around to harass Fields. Able to sit in the pocket — on a couple of plays, Fields held the ball longer than the norm — the Bears quarterback looked for D.J. Moore, who was often matched up against the Colts’ best cornerback, Kenny Moore.


The two players had been arguably the best one-on-one matchup for two days, each side winning its fair share, but D.J. Moore got the best of his counterpart on Fields’ best throw of the day in 7-on-7, convincing Kenny Moore that the Bear was headed to the back of the end zone when Chicago’s quarterback was laying the ball into the front corner for a touchdown.

Kenny Moore was also apparently flagged for a defensive hold while covering D.J. Moore over the middle, although the Colts cornerback did break up that throw.

Fields and backup P.J. Walker were highly successful in the 7-on-7 period, tossing a handful of touchdowns during the session.

Finishing strong

The second-team Colts defense struggled a bit in the red zone, giving up a touchdown run to Roschon Johnson and a touchdown pass from Walker to tight end Robert Tonyan.

But Indianapolis got its revenge on the former Colts backup in the final, and most important, period of the day, slamming the door on six plays by Chicago’s No. 2 offense.


Walker was 0 for 3 in those six plays, took a sack from Indianapolis defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo and finished off the practice by firing too far over the middle and into the waiting arms of Colts safety Henry Black, who might have been able to turn the interception into a pick-six if the coaches hadn’t whistled the play dead.

Injury report

Shaquille Leonard did not practice on Thursday night, the first time the Indianapolis linebacker hasn’t been able to practice. Leonard’s injury is unknown at this point.

Buckner (foot), running back Zack Moss (arm), linebacker Segun Olubi (concussion), center Ryan Kelly (foot), guard Will Fries (calf), defensive end Genard Avery, wide receiver Malik Turner and wide receiver Vyncint Smith.

Tight end Ricky Seals-Jones delivered a big block on a Colts kickoff return, but he came up limping and wasn’t able to return to practice. Indianapolis was already thin at the tight end position; Mo Alie-Cox (ankle), Jelani Woods (hamstring) and Drew Ogletree (shoulder) have missed more than a week of practices. Wide receiver Michael Strachan was also held out of the practice after suffering an early injury.

Quick hitters

Rookie Adetomiwa Adebawore opened practice with a tackle-for-loss against Chicago’s No. 2 offense. … Nose tackle Grover Stewart ran over Chicago center Cody Whitehair in one-on-one drills. … Defensive tackles Eric Johnson and McTelvin Agim both displayed impressive rushes from the interior in the same one-on-one drill. … Rookie cornerback Jaylon Jones broke up a pass to D.J. Moore in the red zone during one-on-one coverage drills against the receivers. … Bears return man Joe Reed took the first kickoff of the special teams period at the goal line, cut to his left, found a hole and raced away with a touchdown.

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What to watch in Colts-Bears preseason tilt at Lucas Oil Stadium

WESTFIELD — The rise of joint practices has altered the NFL preseason just as much as the league’s decision to reduce the schedule from four games to three.

When two teams get together for joint practices, the real work is almost always done on the practice field, leaving the preseason game to the rookies, players locked in tight position battles and backups fighting hard for spots on the 53-man roster.

From the sounds of it, Saturday night’s 7 p.m. kickoff between the Colts and Bears at Lucas Oil Stadium (FOX59) might be more of the latter.

Old friend Matt Eberflus has already taken care of his side of the equation.


The former Colts defensive coordinator-turned-Bears head coach revealed at the end of two joint practices that he does not plan to play starting quarterback Justin Fields, along with a select group of his starters, due to the work they’d gotten in two days against Indianapolis at Grand Park.

Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen repeatedly declined to reveal his plans for playing time this week, and he wasn’t available for interview Thursday night; Eberflus told reporters the Bears coaching staff made their decision Wednesday.

Even if the Colts do not play some of their starters, though, there are still plenty of reasons to watch a young roster take on Chicago in the preseason Saturday night.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) jogs across the field Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, during training camp at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield.

All eyes on Anthony Richardson

How Steichen handles rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson is going to be fascinating.

The Colts coach named Richardson the team’s starting quarterback Tuesday, setting up the No. 4 pick in the draft to take more than 70 snaps in 11-on-11 work over two days against the Bears. Historically speaking, the Colts have held out most of their own critical players when an opponent makes the decision Eberflus has, and the quarterback almost always falls into that equation.


But Steichen hasn’t been shy about his belief that the best way to develop a young quarterback is by playing him as much as possible, and Richardson clearly learned a lot in last week’s 29 preseason snaps against the Bills.

On the other hand, the Colts’ second-team offensive line has struggled in training camp, gave up two immediate sacks of Gardner Minshew last week and had issues against the Bears in joint practices this week. Indianapolis likely will not have center Ryan Kelly and starting right guard Will Fries due to injury, and if Steichen decides to rest his most established veterans, left guard Quenton Nelson and right tackle Braden Smith fit that bill.



Even if Richardson does not play, it’s probably worth catching a few glimpses of the player the Colts hope will develop into their next franchise quarterback, an infectious presence who has already shown an ability to connect with the fans.

Offensive line position battles

Four spots on the Indianapolis offensive line seem set in stone: Nelson, Kelly, Smith and left tackle Bernhard Raimann. Fries has been the starting right guard throughout training camp when healthy, and the Colts have spent the offseason expressing confidence in the potential for those five to bounce back.

Beyond those five, big questions remain.

Indianapolis shifted offensive lineman Arlington Hambright from left tackle to right guard this week, moving Hambright to his natural position and then into the starting lineup when Fries suffered a calf strain early in Wednesday’s practice against Chicago.

Fourth-round pick Blake Freeland started at right tackle against Buffalo in place of an injured Smith last week and had a few rookie moments, then shifted to the left side this week, allowing veteran Dan Skipper to slide onto the second-team line at right tackle. Danny Pinter is back at center in Kelly’s absence, and he’s struggled the last two seasons. Former Cowboy Dakoda Shepley and second-year Colt Wesley French are in the mix.

Indianapolis desperately needs a couple of those players to step forward and establish themselves as depth in the likelihood that one of the starters goes down during the regular season. If Steichen decides to sit his most established players against Chicago, the backups should have plenty of snaps to make an impression.

Dulin difficulty

The Colts lost veteran wide receiver Ashton Dulin to a torn ACL this week.

Indianapolis also lost its best gunner, a former second-team All-Pro pick who acts as a perfect complement to punter Rigoberto Sanchez, pinning opposing punt returners to the sideline with each Sanchez offering.

The Colts now need replacements at both spots, and Saturday night’s preseason game is an opportunity for players to make cases. Few wide receivers have stood out on the Grand Park practice fields outside of the top four — Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, Josh Downs and Isaiah McKenzie — but a big group of players that includes Breshad Perriman, Juwann Winfree, Amari Rodgers and others suddenly has an opportunity on Saturday night.

And although people don’t like watching punts, the loss of Dulin means that the Colts need somebody to step into that role as the team’s top gunner, and it’s arguably the easiest special teams position to watch closely.

Corner conundrum

Dallis Flowers and Darrell Baker Jr., a pair of second-year undrafted free agents, have been the top two outside cornerbacks in Indianapolis throughout the offseason.

But the Colts drafted JuJu Brents in the second round, Darius Rush in the fifth and Jaylon Jones in the seventh in April, intent on rebuilding their depth at cornerback after losing 67.1% of their snaps at the position in the offseason by trading away Stephon Gilmore, allowing Brandon Facyson to leave in free agency and releasing Isaiah Rodgers following his gambling suspension.

Injuries to Brents and Rush in the spring and training camp kept the team’s top two rookies from competing, and the pecking order at the position hasn’t changed since they returned to the lineup.

If one of the rookies is going to make a bid for the starting lineup, it’s going to take a big game, or a big moment, like Rush’s pick-six against Buffalo last week.

Defensive line intrigue

One of the most underrated battles on the roster is the battle to back up the incredible combination of DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart.

Free agent signee Taven Bryan, 2022 fifth-round pick Eric Johnson, fourth-round rookie Adetomiwa Adebawore and former Bronco McTelvin Agim are all competing for those spots, and the emergence of Johnson and Agim has made it a tight battle.

Big plays are going to be key; Indianapolis will use Dayo Odeyingbo as an interior pass rusher on passing downs, but Buckner is going to need to get a breather every once in a while.

Chicago’s offensive line struggled to hold back the Colts on the practice fields at Grand Park, and there might be opportunities for one of the defensive tackles to make an impression Saturday night.